UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Missing
Graphic Reference] Washington, DC 20549
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT
UNDER
THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Answers
Corporation
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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98-0202855
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(State
or other jurisdiction
of
incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
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237
West 35th
Street
Suite
1101
New
York, New York 10001
(646)
502-4777
(Address,
including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s
principal executive offices)
Robert
S. Rosenschein
Chief
Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board
237
West 35th
Street
Suite
1101
New
York, New York 10001
(646)
502-4777
(Name,
address including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent
for service)
With
copies to:
Jeffrey
J. Fessler, Esq.
Sichenzia
Ross Friedman Ference LLP
61
Broadway, 32nd
Floor
New
York, New York 10006
(212)
930-9700
(212)
930-9725 - Facsimile
Approximate date of commencement of
proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date
of this registration statement, as determined by market conditions and other
factors.
If the
only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to
dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. o
If any of
the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or
continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other
than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest
reinvestment plans, check the following box. x
If this
Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule
462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the
Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same offering. o
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the
Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. o
If this
Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a
post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with
the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the
following box. o
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to
General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional
classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check
the following box. o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
definition of “large accelerated
filer”, “accelerated
filer” and “smaller reporting
company” in
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large
accelerated filer o
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Accelerated
filer o
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Non-accelerated
filer o (do
not check if smaller reporting company)
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Smaller
reporting company x
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Title of Each Class of
Securities to be Registered
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Amount to be
Registered(1)
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Proposed Maximum
Offering Price
Per Security(6)
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Proposed Maximum
Aggregate Offering
Price
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Amount of
Registration Fee
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Common
Stock, $.001 par value per share
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1,272,727(2)
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$5.50
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$6,999,999
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$391
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Common
Stock, $.001 par value per share
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636,364(3)
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$6.05
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$3,850,002
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$215
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Common
Stock, $.001 par value per share
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517,192(4)
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$4.50
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$2,327,364
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$130
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Common
Stock, $.001 par value per share
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441,784(5)
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$5.50
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$2,429,812
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$136
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$15,607,177
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$872
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(1)
An indeterminate number of additional shares of common stock shall be
issuable pursuant to Rule 416 to prevent dilution resulting from stock
splits, stock dividends or similar transactions and in such an event the
number of shares registered shall be automatically be increased to cover
the additional shares in accordance with Rule 416 under the Securities
Act.
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(2)
Represents
shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock issued by us upon exercise of a warrant
issued in connection with a private placement that took place
in June 2008 (the “Unit Warrant”).
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(3)
Represents
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of a warrant issued by us
upon exercise of the Unit Warrant.
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(4)
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Represents
shares of common stock that may be issued as dividends pursuant to the
terms of the Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock.
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(5)
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Represents
shares of common stock that may be issued as dividends pursuant to the
terms of the Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock.
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(6)
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Pursuant
to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act, the maximum offering price per
security represents the exercise price of the applicable preferred stock
or warrants.
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The
Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as
may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a
further amendment that specifically states that this Registration Statement
shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the
Securities Act or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on
such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may
determine.
The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The
securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer
to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these
securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT
TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 15, 2009
PROSPECTUS
ANSWERS
CORPORATION
2,868,067 Shares
of Common Stock
This
prospectus relates to 2,868,067 shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per
share, for resale from time to time by the selling stockholders identified in
this prospectus and any of their pledges, donees, transferees or other
successors-in-interest.
We will
not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the
selling stockholders. However, we may receive payments upon the cash
exercise of any of the warrants, which are exercisable for up to 636,364 shares
of our common stock at an exercise price of $6.05 per share. We will
bear all expenses in connection with the registration of the shares, other than
underwriting discounts and selling commissions.
Our
common stock currently trades on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol
“ANSW.” On June 12, 2009, the last reported sale price for our common stock on
The NASDAQ Capital Market was $8.16 per share.
The
securities offered in this prospectus involve a high degree of risk. See “Risk
Factors” beginning on page 8 of this prospectus to read about factors you
should consider before buying shares of our common stock.
The
selling stockholders are offering these shares of common stock. The selling
stockholders or their pledges, donees, transferees or other
successor-in-interest may sell all or a portion of these shares from time to
time in market transactions through any market on which our common stock is then
traded, in negotiated transactions or otherwise, and at prices and on terms that
will be determined by the then prevailing market price or at negotiated prices
directly or through a broker or brokers, who may act as agent or as principal or
by a combination of such methods of sale. The selling stockholders will receive
all proceeds from the sale of the common stock. For additional information on
the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of
Distribution.”
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has
approved or disapproved of these securities or determined whether this
prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a
criminal offense.
The date
of this prospectus
is ,
2009
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Page
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Where
You Can Find More Information
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4
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Incorporation
of Documents By Reference
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4
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Summary
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5
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Risk
Factors
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8
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Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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20
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Use
of Proceeds
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21
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Selling
Stockholders
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21
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Plan
of Distribution
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22
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Legal
Matters
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24
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Experts
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24
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________________
You may
only rely on the information contained in this prospectus or that we have
referred you to. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different
information. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the common stock
offered by this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell
or a solicitation of an offer to buy any common stock in any circumstances in
which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. Neither the delivery of this
prospectus nor any sale made in connection with this prospectus shall, under any
circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in our
affairs since the date of this prospectus or that the information contained by
reference to this prospectus is correct as of any time after its
date.
WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This
prospectus constitutes a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed
under the Securities Act. As permitted by the SEC’s rules, this prospectus and
any prospectus supplement, which form a part of the registration statement, do
not contain all the information that is included in the registration statement.
You will find additional information about us in the registration statement. Any
statements made in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement concerning legal
documents are not necessarily complete and you should read the documents that
are filed as exhibits to the registration statement or otherwise filed with the
SEC for a more complete understanding of the document or matter.
We file
annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information
with the SEC. You may read, without charge, and copy the documents we file at
the SEC’s public reference rooms in Washington, D.C. at
100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC 20549, or in New
York, New York and Chicago, Illinois. You can request copies of these documents
by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the SEC
at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference rooms. Our SEC
filings are also available to the public at no cost from the SEC’s website at
http://www.sec.gov.
INCORPORATION
OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
We
incorporate by reference the filed documents listed below, except as superseded,
supplemented or modified by this prospectus, and any future filings we will make
with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”):
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our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2008;
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our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2009;
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our
Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 12, 2009, February 19,
2009 and May 5, 2009; and
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the
description of our common stock contained in Item 1 of our
Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on
August 1, 2005.
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The
reports and other documents that we file after the date of this prospectus
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act will
update, supplement and supersede the information in this prospectus. You may
request and obtain a copy of any of the filings incorporated herein by
reference, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or
phone number:
Answers
Corporation
237 West
35th Street
Suite 1101
New York,
New York 10001
Attn.:
Corporate Secretary
Tel:
(646) 502-4777
www.answers.com
SUMMARY
You should read the following
summary together with the more detailed information concerning our company, the common
stock being sold in this offering and in the documents incorporated by reference
in this prospectus, including our financial statements. Because this is only a
summary, you should
read the rest of this prospectus, including all documents incorporated by
reference, before you invest in our common stock. Read this entire
prospectus carefully, especially the risks described under “Risk Factors” and
the financial
statements and related notes, before making an investment
decision.
Overview
As a
leading online answer engine, we own and operate Web properties known as
WikiAnswers.com and Answers.com, which are dedicated to providing useful answers
in thousands of categories. WikiAnswers.com is a community-generated social
knowledge Q&A platform, leveraging wiki-based technologies. Through the
contributions of WikiAnswers' large and growing community, answers are
constantly improved and updated over time. WikiAnswers.com was ranked by
comScore, a global Internet information provider, as the fastest growing domain
of the top 200 in the U.S. in terms of unique monthly visitors in 2008. The
award-winning reference site Answers.com includes content on millions
of topics from over 250 licensed sources created by leading publishers,
including Houghton Mifflin Company, Barron's and Encyclopedia
Britannica.
According
to comScore, our combined Web properties –WikiAnswers.com and Answers.com – had
approximately 29.1 million unique visitors in April 2009, which ranked
Answers Corporation number 25 in the top U.S. Web properties. Our goal
is to become the premier online provider of and leading destination for answers
to questions.
According
to our internal estimates, our Web properties had approximately 700 million
page views during the first quarter of 2009. During the same period,
approximately 81% of our traffic was generated by search engines; 15% from
direct traffic, which consists of traffic resulting from a direct type-in of our
URL, a bookmarked Favorite, a direct link from other Web properties, a
downloaded toolbar, or other software or utilities we make available; and 5% by
the definition link appearing on Google’s Website result pages.
We
believe our valuable content and overall user experience drives traffic to our
Web properties, which in turn drives advertising revenue. Our revenue is derived
primarily from third party ad networks, primarily Google AdSense, which
aggregate Web properties looking to monetize their Web traffic and advertisers
seeking to advertise on the Internet.
Corporate
Information
We were
incorporated as a Texas corporation in December 1998 and reorganized as a
Delaware corporation in April 1999. In October 2005, we changed our name from
GuruNet Corporation to Answers Corporation. Our principal executive offices are
located at 237 West 35th Street,
Suite 1101, New York, NY 10001 and our telephone and fax numbers at this
location are 646-502-4777 and 646-502-4778, respectively. In addition, we have
an office in Israel located at Jerusalem Technology Park, the Tower, Jerusalem
91481 Israel, and our telephone and fax numbers at this location are +972
649-5000 and +972 649-5001, respectively. Our corporate website address is
www.answers.com. The information contained on our Web properties or that can be
accessed through our Web properties is not part of this prospectus, and
investors should not rely on any such information in deciding whether to
purchase our common stock.
Redpoint
Financing
On
June 16, 2008, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Series
A Purchase Agreement”) with Redpoint Omega, L.P. and Redpoint Omega Associates,
LLC (collectively, “Redpoint Ventures”) for the
purchase of $6,000,000 of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock,
initially convertible into 1,333,334 shares of common stock at a conversion
price of $4.50 per share, and Series A Common Stock Purchase Warrants
exercisable for 666,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $4.95 per
share. The Series A Common Stock Purchase Warrants are exercisable
from the date of issuance until June 16, 2014. The sale and purchase
of such securities in the private placement was completed on June 16,
2008.
In
connection with the private placement, we entered into a registration rights
agreement with the investors, pursuant to which we agreed to register with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, for resale, the common stock underlying the
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series A Common Stock Purchase
Warrants and any accrued dividends which could potentially be paid in kind by
us. The registration statement registering the common stock
underlying the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series A Common
Stock Purchase Warrants was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange
Commission on September 16, 2008.
In
addition, on June 16, 2008, we entered into a Warrant Agreement (the
“Series B Warrant Agreement”) with the investors for the purchase of Unit
Warrants exercisable for up to $7,000,000 of Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock and Series B Common Stock Purchase Warrants exercisable for 636,364 shares
of common stock. The Series B Preferred Stock is initially
convertible into 1,272,727 shares of common stock at a conversion price of $5.50
per share. The Series B Purchase Warrants have an exercise price of
$6.05 per share and will be exercisable for a period of 6 years from their date
of issuance. On June 10, 2009, the investors exercised the Unit Warrants
in full and we issued an aggregate 70,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock and
Series B Common Stock Purchase Warrants exercisable for 636,364 shares of common
stock.
A summary
of certain of the terms of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B
Common Stock Purchase Warrants that are convertible into or exercisable for the
shares of our common stock to which this prospectus relates are set forth
below:
Ranking
The
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock ranks senior to our junior securities,
including without limitation, our common stock.
Conversion
Each
share of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock has a stated value of $100 per
share (any accrued but unpaid dividends may increase the stated value) and is
initially convertible into common stock at a conversion price of $5.50 per
share, such that the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock is initially
convertible into an aggregate of 1,272,727 shares of common
stock. If we, at any time while the Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock is outstanding, shall sell or grant any option to purchase or
otherwise dispose of or issue any common stock or common stock equivalents
entitling any person to acquire shares of common stock, at an effective price
per share less than the then effective conversion price of the Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock, then, the conversion price shall be adjusted on a
weighted average basis.
Forced
Conversion
Beginning
December 10, 2010, provided certain conditions are satisfied, if the closing
price of the common stock equals an average of at least $16.50 (subject to
adjustment for stock splits, reclassifications, combinations and similar
adjustments) per share for the 45 consecutive trading days, and the average
daily volume of the common stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market is at least
$1,000,000 during such measurement period, unless the investors are prohibited
from converting the Series B Preferred Stock pursuant to the limitations set
forth in the Certificate of Designations, Number, Voting Powers, Preferences and
Rights of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, we shall have the right
exercisable within 3 business days of such conditions being met, to force the
investors to convert any portion of their shares of Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock into shares of common stock at the then-effective conversion
price.
Redemption
Rights
At any
time on or after June 16, 2014, upon written request by the holders
of a majority of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, we shall redeem all
or any portion of the then outstanding Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock for an amount in cash equal to the sum of (i) 100% of the aggregate stated
value of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock then outstanding and (ii)
accrued but unpaid dividends (to the extent not already included in stated
value) and (iii) all liquidated damages and other amounts due in respect of the
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.
Right
to Participate in Future Financings
At any
time while Series B Convertible Preferred Stock is outstanding (or the common
stock issued or issuable upon conversion thereof) and the investors collectively
hold a majority of the outstanding Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (or the
common stock issuable or issued upon conversion thereof) purchased by the
investors, each investor shall have a right to participate pro rata with respect
to the issuance or possible issuance by us of any future equity or equity-linked
securities or debt which is convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for
equity or in which there is an equity component on the same terms and conditions
as offered by us to the other purchasers of such securities.
Voting
and Right to Appoint a Director
The
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock votes on an as converted basis with our
common stock, subject to certain limitations. Additionally, so long as any
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock are outstanding, we shall not,
without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of the
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock then outstanding, (a) alter or change
adversely the powers, preferences or rights given to the Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock or alter or amend the Certificate of Designations, Number,
Voting Powers, Preferences and Rights of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
(whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise), (b) authorize or create any
class of stock, including securities exercisable for or convertible into such
stock, ranking as to dividends, redemption or distribution of assets upon a
liquidation senior to or otherwise pari passu with the Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock, except for any series of Preferred Stock issued to the
investors, (c) amend its certificate of incorporation or other charter documents
(whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise) so as to affect adversely any
rights of the investors, (d) increase or decrease the authorized number of
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, or (e) enter into any agreement
with respect to the foregoing.
Additionally,
so long as the investors hold a beneficial ownership interest percentage of at
least 19%, the holders of a majority of the outstanding Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock have the right to appoint an individual to serve as a voting
member of our board of directors.
Dividends
The
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock will accrue cumulative dividends at a rate
of 6% per annum whether or not dividends have been declared by the board of
directors and whether or not there are profits, surplus or other funds available
for the payment of such dividends. Such dividends are in preference to all other
classes of stock junior in rank to the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock,
including our common stock. Dividends may be payable in kind at the
option of the company upon satisfaction of certain conditions. After the payment
of these dividends on the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, the holders of
such shares are entitled to participate on an as converted basis in the payment
of any dividends on the common stock.
Liquidation
Preference
Upon any
liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the company, whether voluntary or
involuntary, the holders of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock shall be
entitled to receive out of our assets, whether such assets are capital or
surplus, for each share of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock an amount equal
to greater of (i) the stated value for the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon and any other fees or
liquidated damages owing thereon before any distribution or payment shall be
made to the holders of any junior securities (including, without limitation, the
common stock) or (ii) such amount per share as would have been payable had all
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock been upon any such liquidation
converted to common stock immediately prior to such liquidation, in any case,
and if our assets shall be insufficient to pay in full such amounts, then the
entire assets to be distributed to the investors shall be distributed among the
holders of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock ratably in accordance with the
respective amounts that would be payable on such shares if all amounts payable
thereon were paid in full.
Terms
of the Series B Common Stock Purchase Warrants
The
Series B Common Stock Purchase Warrants are exercisable from the date of
issuance until June 10, 2015 for 636,364 shares of common stock at an exercise
price of $6.05 per share, subject to weighted-average
anti-dilution. The holders of the Series B Common Stock Purchase
Warrants have the option to exercise the warrants on a “net share” or cashless
basis, in which warrant shares are forfeited in lieu of paying the cash exercise
price, in which case we would receive no additional proceeds upon their exercise
(but fewer shares would be issued).
RISK
FACTORS
You should carefully consider the
risks described below before making an investment decision. The risks described below
are not the only ones we face. Additional risks we are not presently aware of or
that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our
business could be harmed by any of these risks. The trading price of our common
stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your
investment. In assessing these risks, you should also refer to the other information
contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus, including our financial statements and related
notes.
Risks
Relating to our Business
If search engines
alter their algorithms or methods or otherwise restrict the flow of users visiting
our Web properties, our business and financial results could
suffer.
Search
engines serve as the primary Web entry point for most users in search of
information, and our topic and answer pages often appear as one of the top links
on the pages returned by search engines in response to users’ search queries. As
a result, we rely heavily on search engines for the overwhelming share of
users visiting our Web properties. According to our internal estimates, traffic
to our Web properties originating from search engines during the fourth quarter
of 2008, excluding Google-directed definition link traffic, was approximately
80% of the overall traffic to our Web properties, the majority of which
originated from Google and, to a lesser but still significant extent, Yahoo!.
WikiAnswers.com search engine traffic during the same period was even more
significant, amounting to approximately 90% of its overall traffic. If our
traffic from search engines declines for any reason, we would suffer a
significant decline in overall traffic and revenue. For example, in July 2007, a
search engine algorithm adjustment by Google led to a drop in Google directed
traffic to Answers.com. This adjustment reduced our overall traffic by
approximately 28% based on the average traffic directed to Answers.com from
Google for the week prior to the adjustment as compared to the week after. As a
result, our revenue declined proportionately. In September 2007, Yahoo! dropped
our content from its search index, which led to a drop in our Yahoo! directed
traffic. This action was reversed within a week. Search engines, at any time and
for any reason, could change their algorithms that direct search queries to our
Web properties or could restrict the flow of users visiting our Web properties
specifically. In fact, as illustrated above, on occasion our Web properties –
which both rely so heavily on search engine traffic – have experienced decreases
in traffic, and consequently in revenue, due to these search engine actions. We
cannot guarantee that we will successfully react to these actions in the future
and recover the lost traffic. Accordingly, a change in algorithms that search
engines use to identify Web pages towards which traffic will ultimately be
directed, or a restriction on users visiting our Web properties from the search
engines, could cause a significant decrease in traffic and revenues, which could
adversely affect our business and financial results.
If our Google
Service Agreement, or GSA, is terminated by Google, we would have to seek an
alternative provider of listings and
advertisements, which could adversely affect our business and financial
results.
Our
business is dependent on the GSA, under which we obtain most of the
advertisements displayed on our Web properties and earn most of our ad revenues.
Google may terminate the GSA with no advance notice if we:
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· take certain
prohibited actions including, among other
things:
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· editing or modifying
the order of search results,
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· redirecting end
users, producing or distributing any software which prevents the display
of ads by Google,
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· modifying, adapting
or otherwise attempting to obtain source code from Google technology,
content, software and
documentation or
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· engaging in any
action or practice that reflects poorly on Google or otherwise disparaging
or devaluing Google’s reputation or
goodwill;
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· breach the grant of a
license to us by Google of certain trade names, trademarks, service marks,
logos, domain names and other distinctive brand features of
Google;
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· breach the
confidentiality provisions of the
GSA;
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· breach the
exclusivity provisions of the
GSA; or
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· materially breach the
GSA more than two times, irrespective of any cure to such
breaches.
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The
GSA is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2010, unless renewed upon
mutual written consent.
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Google’s
termination of the GSA would result in our need to replace this relationship and
obtain listings and advertisements from alternative providers, and we may not
succeed in receiving equally favorable terms as those provided in the GSA.
Termination of the GSA and our failure to replace it on equally favorable terms
could result in a material reduction in our ad revenues and could adversely
affect our business and financial results.
A
downturn in the United States and global economic conditions could adversely
affect the profitability of our business.
The U.S.
and global economies are currently experiencing a significant contraction, and
it is expected that we will see further economic downturn in the immediate and
near future. This may result in fewer page views that result in commercial
activities by our users, and may cause advertisers to reduce the amount they
spend on online advertising, thus having a significant negative impact on
the RPMs of both our Web properties in 2009 and beyond. A drop in RPM may result
in a material reduction in our ad revenues which would adversely affect our
business and financial results.
The failure of
WikiAnswers to grow in accordance with our expectations could have an
adverse
impact on our business and financial results.
WikiAnswers.com
is currently our primary growth driver, and it exceeds Answers.com in both
traffic and revenue. Our projections assume that the 2009 growth of
WikiAnswers.com will continue to be greater than that of Answers.com. If, for
whatever reason, WikiAnswers.com fails to perform as well as we anticipate, and
the growth we are experiencing decelerates significantly, falters or ceases, our
business and financial results could be adversely affected.
If Internet users
do not interact with WikiAnswers.com frequently or if we fail to
attract new users to the service, our business and financial results will
suffer.
The
success of WikiAnswers.com is largely dependent upon users constantly
visiting the site by asking questions, posting answers and improving upon both.
We have seen a very high correlation between growth in questions and answers and
growth in the site’s page views. We need to attract users to visit the Web
property frequently and spend increasing amounts of time on the Web property
when they visit. If we are unable to encourage users to interact more frequently
with WikiAnswers.com and to increase the amount of user generated content they
provide, our ability to attract new users to the Web property and increase the
number of loyal users will be diminished and adversely affected. As a result,
our business and financial results will suffer, and we will not be able to grow
our business as planned.
If we are unable
to improve and maintain the quality of content being contributed to WikiAnswers.com
and if we fail to fight vandalism the site has been experiencing, the Web
property will become less valuable to the users, less popular as a destination for
obtaining answers to questions and its growth will be negatively affected, which
in turn could adversely impact our financial results.
It is
critical that we ensure that the quality of content being posted on WikiAnswers,
both questions and answers, is maintained and improved over time. The better the
quality of the content generated on the Web property, the more valuable the Web
property will be for users in search of answers, as well as for search engines
indexing the content to continue featuring it in their search engine result
pages. Improved quality content should lead to stronger growth in the community
size and will lessen the risk of a search engine’s algorithm and/or policy
makers downgrading the rank of WikiAnswers.com. In addition, it is critical that
we ward off vandals and eliminate vandalism on the Web property to the greatest
extent possible. If we fail to maintain and improve the quality of the Web
property’s content, the appeal of WikiAnswers.com to users and search engines
may diminish and the growth of the Web property may be negatively affected,
which in turn could cause our financial results to suffer.
If,
in the interest of improving user experience and user satisfaction, we decide to
decrease the number of ad elements displayed on our Web properties, our
advertising revenues will decline and our financial results will be adversely
impacted.
We
closely monitor the ratio between ad elements and actual content appearing on
our Web pages. In the future we may decide that in order to enhance the
user-experience and increase user satisfaction, our pages should display fewer
ad elements. Displaying less ad-intensive Web pages is likely to result in
faster page-load and offering more content per-page is likely to appeal more to
the user. A better user experience may result in more stickiness on our Web
properties and a higher rate of user-retention and return visits. However, there
is no assurance that reducing advertising on our Web properties will result in
better user-retention and return visits and there can be no guarantee that the
short term reduction in ad revenues will pay off in the long term in the form of
increased traffic. A decrease in the number of ad elements displayed on
our Web properties will result in a drop in RPM and advertising revenues which
may not be recovered through higher traffic, thus having an adverse impact on
our results of operations.
If we are unable
to attract and retain dedicated volunteer supervisors for encouraging the
community’s expansion, our
plans for growing WikiAnswers.com may fail and our results of operations
may be
adversely affected.
We
benefit from the heavy involvement of a large group of external volunteer
supervisors who are not employed by us and are not compensated for their site
activity. The volunteer supervisors, for their own personal motives and
enjoyment, are involved in monitoring questions and answers in specific
categories in an effort to help questions get answered quickly. Volunteers also
help prevent vandalism, improve content consistency, encourage high-quality
contributions and identify potential new volunteers. Volunteers are also engaged
in various community programs aimed at strengthening the community and
contributors’ sense of connection to the site and the community at large and
help instill a sense of camaraderie among users interested in various categories
of WikiAnswers.com. As of March 31, 2009, the community enjoyed the benefit of
over 500 such supervisors. If we are not able to attract enough
volunteers, WikiAnswers.com may suffer and the Web property may become
less attractive to users, which in turn will adversely affect the site’s growth,
our business and financial results. Alternatively, we may be forced to hire paid
employees to engage in many of the initiatives that volunteers currently take
upon themselves for their own personal pleasure and gratification, which, in
turn, would increase the cost of maintaining and improving WikiAnswers.com and
adversely affect our financial results.
We benefit from
Google's directing of traffic to Answers.com through its definition link,
and the loss of this
source of traffic could reduce our ad revenues and adversely affect our business and
financial results.
Approximately
5% of our overall traffic during the first quarter of 2009 was directed to
Answers.com by the definition link appearing on Google’s website result pages.
This traffic includes secondary pages viewed on Answers.com as a result of
visitors arriving at the site via the definition performing additional searches.
The definition link traffic is the result of a unilateral decision by Google to
link certain definitions to Answers.com, and not any contractual relationship.
Google may change these links at any time, in its sole discretion. If Google
stops directing traffic to Answers.com through its definition link, we would
experience a reduction in our traffic and the corresponding ad revenues, which
would adversely affect our business and financial results.
Components of our
business and operations are experiencing rapid growth. If we fail to effectively
manage our growth, our business and operating results could be
harmed.
We have
experienced rapid growth in our operations over the past several years, which
has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management,
operational and financial infrastructure. If we do not effectively manage our
growth, the quality of our products and services could suffer, which could
negatively affect our brand and operating results. To effectively manage this
growth, we will need to continue to improve our operational, financial and
management controls and our reporting systems and procedures. These systems
enhancements and improvements will require significant capital expenditures and
management resources. Failure to implement these improvements could hurt our
ability to manage our growth and our financial position.
We have a
relatively short operating history and a relatively new business model in an
emerging and rapidly
evolving market. This makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects
and may
increase the risks that we will not continue to be successful and that
our financial results
could suffer.
There are
two primary categories of Internet advertising, pay-per-performance, or most
commonly cost per click, or CPC, and pay-per-impression, or cost per 1,000
impressions, or CPM. In the case of performance-based advertising, the
advertiser only pays when a user clicks on an ad, as opposed to viewing the ad,
as in impression-based advertising. We first derived advertising revenue in the
first quarter of 2005, and we have only a relatively short operating history
with our CPC and CPM advertising model. As a result, we have relatively
little operating history to aid in assessing our future prospects. Also, we
derive nearly all of our revenues from online advertising, which is an immature
industry that has undergone rapid and dramatic changes in its relatively short
history. We will encounter risks and difficulties as a growing company in a new
and rapidly evolving market. We may not be able to successfully address these
risks and difficulties, which could materially harm our business and operating
results.
We may not be
able to obtain capital when desired on favorable terms, if at all, or
without
dilution to our stockholders.
We
believe we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet our working capital
and operating requirements for the next twelve months, based on our current cash
and cash equivalent levels and expected cash flow from
operations. Further, in estimating our expected cash flow during the
next twelve months, we have considered the current general economic
downturn and its impact on our future revenue. However, we may need or
desire additional financing to execute on our current or future business
strategies, including to:
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· improve traffic
monetization and expand content on our Web
properties;
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· enhance our operating
infrastructure;
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· acquire businesses or
technologies; or
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· otherwise respond to
competitive pressures.
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If we
decide to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible
debt securities, and are successful at raising such capital, the percentage
ownership of our stockholders could be significantly diluted, and these newly
issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of
existing stockholders. We cannot assure you that additional financing will be
available on terms favorable to us, or at all, particularly in light of the
weakness of the financial markets and the economic crisis. For example, we
experienced such financing difficulties during the course of our recent failed
attempt to acquire Lexico Publishing Group, LLC and our ultimate abandonment of
a follow-on offering. If adequate funds are not available or are not available
on acceptable terms, when we desire them, our ability to fund our operations,
take advantage of unanticipated opportunities, develop or enhance our services,
or otherwise respond to competitive pressures would be significantly
limited.
We generate our
revenue almost entirely from advertising so uncertainties in the Internet
advertising market and our failure to increase advertising inventory on
our Web properties
could adversely affect our ad revenues.
Although
worldwide online advertising spending is growing steadily, it represents only a
small percentage of total advertising expenditures. Our advertisers can
generally terminate their contracts with us at any time. Advertisers will not
continue to do business with us if their investment in Internet advertising with
us does not generate sales leads, and ultimately customers, or if we do not
deliver their advertisements in an appropriate and effective manner. If the
Internet does not continue to be as widely accepted as a medium for advertising
and the rate of advertising on the Internet increase, our ability to generate
increased revenues could be adversely affected. We believe that growth in our ad
revenues will also depend on our ability to increase the number of pages on
our Web properties to provide more advertising inventory. If we fail to increase
our advertising inventory at a sufficient rate, our ad revenues could grow more
slowly than we expect, which could have an adverse effect on our financial
results.
New
technologies could block Internet ads, which could harm our financial
results.
Technologies
have been developed, and are likely to continue to be developed, that can block
the display of Internet ads. Most of our revenues are derived from fees paid to
us by advertisers in connection with the display of their ads. Ad-blocking
technology may cause a decrease in the number of ads that we can display on our
Web properties, which could adversely affect our ad revenues and our financial
results.
We face
significant competition from question and answer sites, search engines and
other free reference
and industry-specific Web properties that could adversely impact our
competitive
position.
We face
significant competition from a wide variety of Web properties. Question and
answer sites, such as Yahoo! Answers, Askville (owned by Amazon), Live QnA
(owned by Microsoft), Yedda (owned by AOL), Answerbag.com (owned by Demand
Media, Inc.) and Wikia, Inc. compete with WikiAnswers.com. Destination
portals and other free online information and/or reference services, such as
About.com (owned by the New York Times), TheFreeDictionary.com, Dictionary.com
(owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp) and Wikipedia.org, compete with Answers.com.
Other competitors of Answers.com include vertical industry-specific Web
properties, such as Bankrate.com and WebMD.com. Since several companies
operating traditional search engines, such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL and Ask.com
offer their own question and answer services, they too can be viewed as
competitors of our answers-driven products, particularly in light of the fact
that some search engines have begun putting snippets of useful answers at the
top of many of their pages, in response to queries made by users. Nevertheless,
search engines remain the greatest source of traffic arriving at our Web
properties.
Many of
our competitors have longer operating histories, more extensive management
experience, an employee base with more extensive experience, better geographic
coverage, larger consumer bases, greater brand recognition and significantly
greater financial, marketing and other resource than we do. We expect
competition to intensify in the future. If our competitors are more successful
than we are in developing compelling products or attracting and retaining more
users, then our competitive position and financial results could be adversely
affected.
Our failure to
generate direct traffic to our Web properties could adversely affect
our
business and financial results.
In
addition to search engine traffic and traffic directed by the Google definition
link, our traffic also originates from Internet users arriving at our Web
properties directly by typing our website address directly into their Web
browser, bookmarking our Web properties, using AnswerTips and visiting sites
that direct users to our Web properties. Given the wide availability of free
search engines and reference content sites, we may not be able to retain current
Internet users or attract new Internet users in this direct fashion. If we are
unable to retain our direct Internet users or attract new direct Internet users,
our ability to generate revenues would be adversely impacted, which could
adversely affect our business and financial results.
Traffic to our
Web properties and advertising demand fluctuates significantly on a seasonal basis,
which impacts our operations from quarter to quarter.
Many of
our users are students that utilize our Web properties as reference sources. Our
traffic fluctuates with the academic school year, rising from January through
May, falling to lower levels during the summer months, rising again in September
through November, and falling again in December, coinciding with school breaks
and the holiday season. We expect traffic to our Web properties to continue to
fluctuate seasonally in the future. This seasonal fluctuation in traffic results
in a fluctuation in our quarterly revenues, since fewer users to our Web
properties translates into fewer users clicking on or viewing the advertisements
on our Web properties. In addition, the demand for our advertising inventory
fluctuates during the year based on the seasonal needs of our advertisers,
rising to its highest levels during the fourth quarter and falling to its lowest
levels in the first quarter. Accordingly, our revenue fluctuates based on the
seasonality of our traffic and advertising demand. The effect of this
seasonality makes it difficult to estimate future revenues based on the results
of any specific quarter, thus it is difficult to make operating plans relating
to hiring and expenses. Additionally, as a result of the difficulty to estimate
revenues, we may be unable to meet our revenue or profit and loss forecasts
which could have a negative impact on the market price of our common
stock.
Our
operating results may fluctuate, which makes comparing our operating results on
a period-to-period basis difficult and could cause our results to fall short of
expectations.
Our
operating results may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, many outside
of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a
period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and you should not rely on our
past results as an indication of our future performance. Our quarterly,
year-to-date and annual expenses as a percentage of our revenues may differ
significantly from our historical or projected rates. Our operating results in
future quarters may fall below expectations. Any of these events could cause our
stock price to fall.
We may not be
successful in expanding our business through acquisitions, business combinations and
other transactions, and, even if we are successful, our operations may be adversely
affected as a result of these transactions.
We intend
to pursue acquisitions, business combinations and joint ventures, which we refer
to as extraordinary transactions. Our ability to implement this business
strategy depends in large part on our ability to compete successfully with other
entities for acquisition candidates and joint venture partners. Factors
affecting our ability to compete successfully include:
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· our financial
condition and resources relative to the financial condition and resources
of competitors;
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· our ability to issue
common stock as potential
consideration;
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· the attractiveness of
our common stock as potential consideration relative to the common stock
of competitors;
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· our ability to obtain
financing; and
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· our available cash,
which depends upon our results of operations and our cash
demands.
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In
addition, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates and we may
not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. If we do
complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position
or achieve our goals, or such acquisitions may be viewed negatively by
customers, financial markets or investors. In addition, any acquisitions that we
make could lead to difficulties in integrating personnel and operations from the
acquired businesses and in retaining and motivating key personnel from these
businesses. Acquisitions may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management
from day-to-day responsibilities, increase our expenses or adversely affect our
business, operating results and financial condition. For example, we experienced
such disruption, diversion and increased expenses during the course of our
recent failed attempt to acquire Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Future
acquisitions may reduce our cash available for operations and other uses and
could result in an increase in amortization expense related to identifiable
assets acquired, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities or the
incurrence of debt, which could harm our business, financial condition and
operating results.
If we fail to
maintain and enhance awareness of our Web properties, our business and
financial
results could be adversely affected.
We
believe that maintaining and enhancing awareness of our Web properties is
critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our services and to the success
of our business. We also believe that the importance of brand recognition will
increase due to the relatively low barriers to entry in our market. Maintaining
and enhancing our Web properties may require us to spend increasing amounts of
money on, and devote greater resources to, advertising, marketing and other
brand-building efforts, and these investments may not be successful. Further,
even if these efforts are successful, they may not be cost-effective. If we are
unable to continuously maintain and enhance our Web properties, our traffic may
decrease and we may fail to attract advertisers, which could in turn result in
lost revenues and adversely affect our business and financial
results.
Our failure to
offer compelling content and provide our users with quality information could
result in lost revenue, as a result of a loss of users and
advertisers.
We
believe our future success depends in part upon our ability to deliver valuable
content through our Web properties. We are heavily dependent on licensed
content. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to enter into new or renew
current or future content agreements on commercially acceptable terms or at all.
If we are unable to maintain and enhance our existing relationships with content
providers or develop new relationships with alternative providers of content,
our Answers.com service may become less attractive to Internet users, resulting
in decreased traffic to Answers.com, which could have an adverse effect on our
ad revenues and a negative impact on our business.
If we are unable
to maintain and expand our computer and communications systems, then
interruptions and
failures in our services could result, making our services less attractive to
consumers and subjecting us to lost revenue from the loss of users and
advertisers.
Our
ability to provide high quality user experience depends on the efficient and
uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems. Over time,
our Web properties have experienced significant increases in traffic, and we
continuously seek to further increase our user base. Accordingly, our Internet
servers must accommodate spikes in demand for our Web pages in addition to
potential significant growth in traffic. Delays and interruptions could
frustrate users and reduce traffic on our Web properties, adversely affecting
our operations and growth prospects. Furthermore, our systems may be
vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, terrorist attacks,
floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses,
computer denial of service attacks or other attempts to harm our systems, which
could adversely affect our operations.
We manage
our Answers.com and WikiAnswers.com Web operations through our own colocation
facility. Our colocation facility, located in New Jersey, is provided by
NetAccess Corporation. We plan to add a second colocation site in the third
quarter of 2009 in order to provide redundancy of Web operations at the data
center level. Until such time, our operations are centered in one single data
center facility. Our single facility could suffer interruptions or
failures in service. Our Web operations would be adversely affected, making our
services less attractive to consumers and subjecting us to lost revenue.
Additionally, if we are unable to recruit and retain skilled employees to manage
the Web hosting operations, we may not be able to properly manage the necessary
tasks to keep our systems running smoothly and grow the business.
If we were to
lose the services of our key personnel, we may not be able to execute
our
business plan and our business could be adversely affected.
Our
ability to execute our business plan depends upon the continued service of our
executive officers and other key technology, marketing, sales and support
personnel. Our employment agreements with our executive officers and key
employees are terminable by either party upon 30-90 days notice. If we lose
the services of one or more of our key employees, or if one or more of our
executive officers or key employees joined a competitor or otherwise competed
with us, our business could be adversely affected. We cannot assure you that we
will be able to retain or replace our key personnel, and the services of key
members of our research and development team, in particular, would be difficult
to replace. If we do not succeed in retaining or replacing our key personnel, we
may be unable to execute our business plan and, as a result, our stock price may
decline.
Our business
depends on increasing use of the Internet by users searching for information,
advertisers marketing products and services and Web properties seeking
to earn
revenue to support their web content. If the Internet infrastructure does
not grow and is not
maintained to support these activities, our business will be
harmed.
Our
success will depend on the continued growth and maintenance of the Internet
infrastructure. This includes maintenance of a reliable network backbone with
the necessary speed, data capacity and security for providing reliable Internet
services. Internet infrastructure may be unable to support the demands placed on
it if the number of Internet users continues to increase, or if existing or
future Internet users access the Internet more often or increase their bandwidth
requirements. In addition, viruses, worms and similar programs may harm the
performance of the Internet. The Internet has experienced a variety of outages
and other delays as a result of damage to portions of its infrastructure, and
could face outages and delays in the future. These outages and delays could
reduce the level of Internet usage as well as our ability to provide our
solutions.
Rules established
by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, require us to expense equity
compensation given to our employees and may impact our ability to effectively
utilize equity compensation to attract and retain employees.
The FASB
has adopted changes that require companies to record a charge to earnings for
employee stock option grants and other equity incentives effective
January 1, 2006, which we have adopted. These accounting changes may cause
us to reduce the availability and amount of equity incentives provided to
employees, which may make it more difficult for us to attract, retain and
motivate key personnel. Additionally, it may be difficult for us to estimate the
impact of such compensation charges on future operating results because they
will be based upon the fair market value of our common stock and other
assumptions at future dates.
We may be subject
to liability for online services, which may not be limited by the safe harbors in
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, The Communications Decency Act, or
CDA, or the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.
If we do
not meet the safe harbor requirements, or if it is otherwise determined
that our Web
properties contain actionable content, we could be subject to claims,
which could be costly
and time-consuming to defend.
We host
certain services that enable individuals to generate content and engage in
various online activities. The law relating to the liability of providers of
these online services for activities of their users is currently unsettled both
within the United States and internationally. Claims have been threatened and
may in the future be brought against us for defamation, invasion of privacy,
negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, unlawful activity, tort,
including personal injury, fraud, or other theories based on the nature and
content of information to which we provide links, or that may be posted online
or generated by the users of our Web properties. Our defense of any of these
actions could be costly and involve significant time and attention of our
management and other resources.
The DMCA
is intended, among other things, to reduce the liability of online service
providers for listing or linking to third party Web properties that include
materials that infringe copyrights or rights of others. Additionally, portions
of the CDA are intended to provide statutory protections to online service
providers who distribute third party content. A safe harbor for copyright
infringement is also available under the DMCA to certain online service
providers that provide specific services, if the providers take certain
affirmative steps as set forth in the DMCA. Important questions regarding the
safe harbor under the DMCA and the CDA have yet to be litigated, and we can not
guarantee that we will meet the safe harbor requirements of the DMCA or of the
CDA. If we are not covered by a safe harbor, for any reason, we could be exposed
to claims, which could be costly and time-consuming to defend.
In
addition, COPPA was enacted in October 1998. COPPA imposes civil and
criminal penalties on persons distributing material harmful to minors over the
Internet to persons under the age of 17 or collecting personal information from
children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect and disclose personal
information from minors. The manner in which COPPA may be interpreted and
enforced cannot yet be determined. Moreover, the applicability to the Internet
of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, copyright,
defamation, obscenity and personal privacy is uncertain. We may be subject to
claims that our content violates such laws, which could damage our business and
cause our stock price to decline.
We also
periodically enter into arrangements to offer third party products, services or
content under the Answers brand or through our Web properties. We may be subject
to claims concerning these products, services or content by virtue of our
involvement in marketing, branding, broadcasting or providing access to them,
even if we do not ourselves host, operate, provide, or provide access to
them.
It is
also possible that, if any information provided directly by us contains errors
or is otherwise negligently provided to users, third parties could make claims
against us. While it is our belief that the Terms of Use governing the use of
our Web properties covers us against these types of claims, there are no
assurances as to the final determination of these types of claims by any court
of law. Furthermore, investigating and defending any of these types of claims is
expensive, even to the extent that the claims are without merit or do not
ultimately result in liability.
Third parties may
claim that we are infringing on their patents, trademarks or copyrights, which
could result in substantial costs, diversion of significant managerial
resources and significant harm to our reputation.
The
industry in which we operate is characterized by the existence of a large number
of patents and frequent litigation based on allegations of patent infringement.
We expect that Internet technologies, software products and services may be
increasingly subject to third party patent infringement claims as the number of
competitors in our industry segment grows and the functionality of products in
different industry segments overlaps. From time to time, third parties may
assert patent infringement claims against us in various jurisdictions that are
important to our business. Additionally, third parties may assert trademark
infringement claims with respect to brand names we use from time to time and
content we display on our Web properties. For example, a third party may make
claims against us over the display of search results triggered by search terms
that include trademark terms. Furthermore, we may be faced with copyright
infringement claims. We have received, and are likely to continue to receive,
“cease and desist” letters demanding that we remove infringing content from our
Web properties based on a theory of copyright and trademark
infringement.
A
successful patent, trademark or copyright infringement claim against us by any
third party, could subject us to:
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· substantial liability
for damages and litigation costs, including attorneys’
fees;
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· lawsuits that prevent
us from further use of intellectual property and require us to permanently
cease and desist from selling or marketing products that use the
intellectual property;
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· licensing
intellectual property from a third party, which could include significant
licensing and royalty fees not presently paid by us, adding materially to
the our costs of operations;
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· developing new
intellectual property, as a non-infringing alternative, that could delay
projects, add materially to our costs of operations and be unacceptable to
our users, which in turn could adversely affect our traffic and
revenues; and
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· indemnifying third
parties who have entered into agreements with us with respect to losses
they incurred as a result of the infringement, which could include
consequential and incidental damages that are material in
amount.
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Regardless
of the merit of third party infringement claims, these claims could result in
substantial costs, diversion of significant resources and management attention,
termination of customer contracts, loss of customers and significant harm to our
reputation.
Finally,
many of our agreements with advertisers, distribution partners, and other third
party partners require us to indemnify these partners for certain third party
intellectual property infringement claims, which could increase our costs as a
result of defending the claims and may require that we pay damages if there were
an adverse ruling in any of the claims. An adverse determination could also
prevent us from offering our products and services to others and may require
that we procure substitute products or services, which could adversely affect
our business and financial results.
Misappropriation
of our intellectual property could harm our reputation, adversely affecting our
competitive position and financial results.
Our
ability to compete depends in part upon the strength of our proprietary rights
in our technologies, brands and content. We rely on a combination of
U.S. and foreign patents, copyrights, trademark, trade secret laws and
license agreements to establish and protect our intellectual property and
proprietary rights. The efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual
property and proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective at stopping
unauthorized use of our intellectual property and proprietary rights. In
addition, effective trademark, patent, copyright and trade secret protection may
not be available or cost-effective in every country in which our services are
made available through the Internet. There may be instances where we are not
able to fully protect or utilize our intellectual property in a manner that
maximizes competitive advantage. If we are unable to protect our intellectual
property and proprietary rights from unauthorized use, the value of our Web
properties may be reduced, which could negatively impact our business. In
addition, protecting our intellectual property and other proprietary rights is
expensive and diverts critical managerial resources. If any of the foregoing
were to occur, or if we are otherwise unable to protect our intellectual
property and proprietary rights, our business and financial results could be
adversely affected.
We have incurred
significant and continuing net losses since our inception and may continue to incur
losses.
We
incurred net losses of approximately $12.3 million and $4.1 million
for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. As of
December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009, we had an accumulated deficit of
approximately $71 million and approximately $70 million, respectively. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve net income on a quarterly or
annual basis. If our revenues do not increase, or if our operating expenses
exceed expectations or cannot be reduced, we will continue to incur substantial
losses, which would materially adversely affect our business and financial
results.
New government
regulation and legal uncertainties could require us to incur significant
expenses.
The laws
and regulations applicable to the Internet, and to our products and services,
are evolving and unclear and could damage our business. In addition, we will be
subject to any new laws and regulations directly applicable to our products and
services. It is possible that laws and regulations may be adopted covering
issues such as user privacy, pricing, taxation, content regulation, quality of
products and services, and intellectual property ownership and infringement.
This legislation could expose us to substantial liability as well as dampen the
growth in use of the Internet generally, decrease the acceptance of the Internet
as a communications and commercial medium, or require us to incur significant
compliance expenses. Compliance with these laws and regulations may also cause
us to change or limit our business practices in a manner adverse to our
business.
Increased
regulation or the imposition of access fees could substantially increase the
costs of communicating on the Internet, potentially decreasing the demand for
our products. A number of proposals have been made at the federal, state and
local level that would impose additional taxes on the sale of goods and services
through the Internet. Such proposals, if adopted, could substantially impair the
growth of electronic commerce and could adversely affect us.
Due to
the global nature of the Internet, it is possible that the governments of other
states and foreign countries might attempt to regulate its transmissions or
prosecute us for violations of their laws. We might unintentionally violate
these laws. Such laws may be modified, or new laws may be enacted, in the
future. Our business may be negatively affected by a variety of new or existing
laws and regulations, which may expose us to substantial compliance costs and
liabilities and may impede the growth in use of the Internet
generally.
Risks
Related to our Common Stock
Our common stock
may be affected by limited trading volume and may fluctuate significantly.
Our
common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Capital Market. Although an active trading
market has developed for our common stock, there can be no assurance that an
active trading market for our common stock will be sustained. Failure to
maintain an active trading market for our common stock may adversely affect our
shareholders’ ability to sell our common stock in short time periods, or at all.
Our common stock has experienced, and may experience in the future, significant
price and volume fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of
our common stock.
You may
experience dilution in your percentage ownership interest as a result of any
additional issuances of our common stock.
We have
authorized 100 million shares of our common stock, of which approximately 15.1
million shares were issued and outstanding after giving effect to the assumed
exercise of all outstanding warrants and options and assumed conversion of
preferred stock as of December 31, 2008. Our board of directors has the
authority, without action or vote of our stockholders in many cases, to issue
all or a part of any authorized but unissued shares. Such stock issuances may be
made at a price that reflects a discount from the then-current trading price of
our common stock. In addition, we may need to issue securities that are
convertible into or exercisable for a significant amount of our common stock.
For example, on June 16, 2008, we sold Series A Convertible Preferred Stock
and related warrants for $6.0 million and issued the Unit Warrant to Redpoint
Ventures. On June 10, 2009 Redpoint Ventures exercised in full its
Unit Warrant and we issued Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and related
warrants in exchange for $7.0 million. These issuances may
dilute your percentage ownership interest, which will have the effect of
reducing your influence on matters on which our stockholders vote.
You may
incur additional dilution if holders of stock options, whether currently
outstanding or subsequently granted, exercise their options or if warrant
holders exercise their warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. In
addition, these issuances, or the perception that such issuances may occur in
the future, may have a depressant effect on our stock price and make it more
difficult to raise capital in the future on reasonable terms or at
all.
There may be
substantial sales of our common stock, which could cause our stock price
to
fall.
All of
our issued and outstanding shares are immediately available for sale in the
public market without registration under Rule 144. Sales of a substantial
number of shares of our common stock could cause the price of our securities to
fall and could impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional
securities.
We
do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock.
We have
never declared or paid any cash dividend on our capital stock. We currently
intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay any dividends on
our common stock in the foreseeable future.
We
may incur penalties if the registration statement covering the common stock
underlying the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock and the Common Stock Purchase Warrants and the
Common Stock issued for the payment of accrued dividends on the Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock does not
remain effective.
Under the
terms of the registration rights agreement we entered into with the holders of
our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Stock, we
are obligated to register the common stock underlying the Series A Convertible
Preferred Stock, Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and the Common Stock
Purchase Warrants and register the common stock issued for the payment of
accrued dividends on the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock. The registration rights carry penalties in the
event we do not meet these registration obligations. The registration statement
registering the common stock underlying the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock
and the Common Stock Purchase Warrants was declared effective by the Securities
and Exchange Commission on September 16, 2008. We agreed to use our commercially
reasonable best efforts to ensure the continued effectiveness of the
registration statement thereafter. In the event sales of any or all of the
securities covered by the registration statement cannot be made, whether because
of our failure to keep the registration statement effective, or for various
other reasons, then we must pay liquidated damages in cash to the holders of our
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock in the amount of 1.0% per month, on a daily pro rata basis, up to a
maximum of 8.0%, of the aggregate purchase price of $6,000,000 with respect to
the shares issued or issuable in connection with the Series A Purchase Agreement
and aggregate purchase price of $7,000,000 with respect to the shares issued or
issuable in connection with the Series B Warrant Agreement.
We have issued
and could issue additional “blank check” preferred stock without stockholder
approval with the effect of
diluting then current stockholder interests.
Our
certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to
1,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights
and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of
directors. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered, without stockholder
approval, to issue a series of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation,
conversion, voting or other rights, which could dilute the interest of, or
impair the voting power of, our stockholders. The issuance of a series of
preferred stock could be used as a method of discouraging, delaying or
preventing a change in control. Although we do not presently intend to issue any
additional shares of preferred stock, we may do so in the future. On June 16,
2008, we issued 60,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to
Redpoint Ventures. In addition, on June 10, 2009 Redpoint Ventures
exercised its Unit Warrant and we issued 70,000 shares of Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock to them.
The
holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to receive liquidation payments in
preference to the holders of our common stock.
Pursuant
to the terms of the certificates of designation creating the Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, upon a
liquidation of our company, the holders of shares of the Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock are
entitled to receive a liquidation payment prior to the payment of any amount
with respect to the shares of our common stock. The amount of this preferential
liquidation payment is equal to the greater of (i) $100 per share of
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock, as the case may be, plus the amount of any accrued but unpaid dividends
on those shares and any other fees or liquidated damages owing thereon or (ii)
such amount per share as would have been payable had all shares of Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock or Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, as the case
may be, been upon any such liquidation converted to common stock immediately
prior to such liquidation. Dividends accrue on the shares of Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Stock at a rate of 6% per
annum.
Provisions in our
charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that
stockholders may consider favorable.
Provisions
of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws could make
it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be
beneficial to our stockholders. For example, our board of directors is divided
into three classes, with one class being elected each year by our stockholders,
which generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority
of directors and obtain control of our board. In addition, stockholder meetings
may be called only by our board of directors, the chairman of the board and the
president, advance notice is required prior to stockholder proposals and
stockholders may not act by written consent. Furthermore, we have authorized
preferred stock that is undesignated, making it possible for our board of
directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences
that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our
company.
Delaware
law also could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us.
Specifically, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, to which
our company is subject, may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to
transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors, including
discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for
the shares of common stock held by our stockholders.
We
are at risk of securities class action litigation.
Securities
class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a
decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant
for us because Internet companies often experience significant stock price
volatility. If we faced such litigation, it could result in substantial costs
and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could adversely
affect our business.
Weaknesses in our
internal controls may impede our ability to produce timely
and accurate financial statements, which could cause us to fail to file our periodic
reports timely, result in inaccurate financial reporting or restatements of
our financial statements, subject our stock to delisting and materially harm
our business reputation and stock price.
As a
public company, we are required to file annual and quarterly periodic reports
containing our financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission
within prescribed time periods. As part of The NASDAQ Capital Market listing
requirements, we are also required to provide our periodic reports, or make them
available, to our shareholders within prescribed time periods. If we are
required to restate our financial statements in the future, any specific
adjustment may be adverse and may cause our operating results and financial
condition, as restated, on an overall basis to be materially and adversely
impacted. As a result, we or members of our management could be the subject of
adverse publicity, investigations and sanctions by such regulatory authorities
as the Securities and Exchange Commission and subject to shareholder lawsuits.
Any of the above consequences could cause our stock price to decline materially
and could impose significant unanticipated costs on us.
If we are
not able to issue our financial statements in a timely manner, we will not be
able to comply with the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities and
Exchange Commission and the listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market.
If these events occur, our common stock listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market
could be suspended or terminated and our stock price could materially suffer. In
addition, we or members of our management could be subject to investigation and
sanction by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory
authorities and to shareholder lawsuits, which could impose significant
additional costs on us, divert management attention and materially harm our
operating results, financial condition, business reputation and stock
price.
Risks
Related to our Location in Israel
Conditions in
Israel may limit our ability to produce and sell our product, which would lead to a
decrease in revenues.
Because
most of our operations are conducted in Israel, our operations are directly
affected by economic, political and military conditions affecting Israel.
Specifically, we could be adversely affected by:
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· any major hostilities
involving Israel;
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· a full or partial
mobilization of the reserve forces of the Israeli
army;
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· the interruption or
curtailment of trade between Israel and its present trading
partners;
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· risks associated with
the fact that a certain number of our key employees and one officer reside
in what are commonly referred to as occupied
territories;
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· risks associated with
outages and disruptions of communications networks due to any hostilities
involving Israel; and
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· a significant
downturn in the economic or financial conditions in
Israel.
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Since the
establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have
taken place between Israel and its Arab neighbors and a state of hostility,
varying in degree and intensity, has led to security and economic problems for
Israel. Despite negotiations to effect peace between Israel and its Arab
neighbors, the future of these peace efforts is uncertain. Since
October 2000, there has been a significant increase in violence, civil
unrest and hostility, including armed clashes between the State of Israel and
the Palestinians, and acts of terror have been committed inside Israel and
against Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In addition, the recent
armed conflict with Hezbollah on the northern border of Israel negatively
affected business conditions in Israel. There is no indication as to how long
the current hostilities will last or whether there will be any further
escalation. Any further escalation in these hostilities or any future conflict,
political instability or violence in the region may have a negative effect on
our business, harm our results of operations and adversely affect our share
price.
Furthermore,
there are a number of countries that restrict business with Israel or with
Israeli companies, which may limit our ability to promote our products and
services those countries.
We may not be
able to enforce covenants not-to-compete under current Israeli law that
might
result in added competition for our products.
We have
non-competition agreements with all of our employees, almost all of which are
governed by Israeli law. These agreements prohibit our employees from competing
with or working for our competitors, generally during and for up to
12 months after termination of their employment. However, Israeli courts
are reluctant to enforce non-compete undertakings of former employees and tend,
if at all, to enforce those provisions for relatively brief periods of time in
restricted geographical areas and only when the employee has obtained unique
value to the employer specific to that employer’s business and not just
regarding the professional development of the employee. If we are not able to
enforce non-compete covenants, we may be faced with added
competition.
The Israeli
government tax benefits program in which we currently participate and
from which
we receive benefits requires us to meet several conditions. These
programs or benefits may
be terminated or reduced in the future, which may result in an increase in our
tax liability.
Our
Israeli subsidiary receives tax benefits authorized under Israeli law for
capital investments that are designated as “Approved Enterprises.” To be
eligible for these tax benefits, we must meet certain conditions. If we fail to
meet such conditions, these tax benefits could be cancelled, and we could be
required to pay increased taxes or refund the amount of tax benefits we
received, together with interest and penalties. Israeli governmental authorities
have indicated that the government may in the future reduce or eliminate the
benefits of such programs. The termination or reduction of these programs and
tax benefits could increase our Israeli tax rates, and thereby reduce our net
profits or increase our net losses.
U.S. and Israeli
tax authorities may interpret tax issues in manners other than those
which we
have adopted, which may expose us to tax liabilities.
We
operate in the U.S. and in Israel and our earnings are subject to taxation
in both jurisdictions, at different rates. Relevant tax authorities may disagree
with our interpretation and application in practice of tax laws and may dispute
various assumptions we make during our tax planning process. Further, the tax
authorities in the U.S. and/or Israel may take exception with the transfer
price of transactions between Answers Corporation and its wholly owned Israeli
subsidiary. If there is a successful tax challenge of our tax position, our
interpretation and/or application of tax laws in practice, we may be forced to
recognize additional tax liabilities, which may include interest and penalties.
This may harm our results of operations and adversely affect our financial
condition.
Our business may
be impacted by NIS exchange rate fluctuations, which may negatively affect our
earnings.
Exchange
rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the NIS may negatively affect
our earnings. Our revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars. However, a
significant portion of our expenses, associated with our Israeli operations,
including personnel and facilities-related expenses, are incurred in NIS.
Consequently, a devaluation of the U.S. dollar in comparison to the NIS
will have the effect of increasing the dollar cost of our operations in Israel
and an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar in comparison to the NIS may
artificially reduce the dollar cost of our operations in Israel. In 2008 and
2007, the average value of the dollar declined 12.7% and 7.8%, respectively, as
compared to its value in the years immediately preceding such years. For the
three months ended March 31, 2009, the average value of the dollar increased
12.0% as compared to its value for the three months ended March 31,
2008. We cannot predict any future trends in the rate of devaluation or
appreciation of the NIS against the U.S. dollar or of the U.S. dollar
against the NIS. Despite the fact that we often use various hedging tools,
including forward contracts and options, to minimize the effect of currency
fluctuations on our income, if the U.S. dollar cost of our operations in
Israel increases, our dollar-measured consolidated results of operations will be
adversely affected.
SPECIAL
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
prospectus, including the documents that we incorporate by reference, contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E
of the Exchange Act. Such forward-looking statements include those that express
plans, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future development
and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. These forward-looking
statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future
events and they are subject to risks and uncertainties known and unknown that
could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such statements. These forward-looking statements
include, among other things, statements about:
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•
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our
ability to increase the number of persons who use our services and
products;
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•
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our
ability to increase the number of partners who will generate increased
traffic to our Web properties;
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•
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our
financial performance;
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•
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our
ability to improve the monetization of our services and
products;
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•
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the
effects of facing liability for any content displayed on our Web
properties;
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•
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potential
claims that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of any
third party; and
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•
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the
effects of lost traffic due to algorithm or other adjustments by search
engines.
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In some
cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology, such as
“anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expects,” “believes,” “seeks,”
or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Any forward-looking
statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed
throughout this prospectus supplement. We have included important factors in the
cautionary statements included in this prospectus supplement, particularly in
the “Risk Factors” section, that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking
statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions,
mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
You
should read this prospectus, including the documents we incorporate by
reference, and the documents that we have filed as exhibits to the registration
statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the
understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from
what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by law.
USE
OF PROCEEDS
We
will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares sold pursuant
to this prospectus, other than the exercise price, if any, to be received upon
exercise of the warrants. We will bear all expenses in connection with the
registration of the shares, other than underwriting discounts and selling
commissions.
SELLING
STOCKHOLDERS
We
are registering the shares of our common stock to permit the selling
stockholders and their pledgees, donees, transferees and other
successors-in-interest that receive such shares from a selling stockholder as a
gift, partnership distribution or other non-sale related transfer after the date
of this prospectus to resell the shares when and as they deem appropriate. Below
is information with respect to the number of shares of our common stock owned by
the selling stockholders as of June 12, 2009. Except as described below or in
the description of our private placement set forth herein (see “Redpoint
Financing” for a description of these transactions and the related
securities), the selling stockholders do not have, or have not had,
any position, office or other material relationship with us or any of our
affiliates beyond their investment in, or receipt of, our securities. See “Plan
of Distribution” for additional information about the selling stockholders and
the manner in which the selling stockholders may dispose of their shares.
Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with the rules of the
SEC, and includes voting or investment power with respect to the shares. Unless
otherwise indicated in the table below, to our knowledge, the selling
stockholders named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with
respect to their shares of common stock. Our registration of these shares does
not necessarily mean that the selling stockholders will sell any or all of the
shares covered by this prospectus.
We
will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares sold pursuant
to this prospectus, other than the exercise price, if any, to be received upon
exercise of warrants. We will bear all expenses in connection with the
registration of the shares, other than underwriting discounts and selling
commissions.
Pursuant
to the terms of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock, dividends are required to be paid on such shares at
the rate of 6% per annum. The dividends may be paid in cash or in-kind with
shares of common stock. We are registering in this offering 517,192 shares of
common stock, which shares may be issued as dividends to the holders of Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock and 441,784 share of common stock, which shares may
be issued as dividends to the holders of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.
The number of shares of common stock that may actually be issued to the selling
shareholders as in-kind dividends will not be known until such times as the
dividends are due and payable. The information set forth in the following table
regarding the number of shares offered by each selling stockholder does not
include shares that may be issued to such stockholders as in-kind dividends. To
the extent we issue in-kind dividends to selling stockholders who hold shares of
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock,
the number of shares offered in this offering by each such selling stockholder
shall be automatically increased by the number of shares of common stock issued
as in-kind dividends to such selling stockholders.
The
number of shares of common stock that may actually be sold by the selling
stockholders will be determined by the selling stockholders. Because the selling
stockholders may sell all, some or none of the shares of common stock which they
hold, and because the offering contemplated by this prospectus is not currently
being underwritten, no estimate can be given as to the number of shares of
common stock that will be held by the selling stockholders upon termination of
the offering. The information set forth in the following table regarding the
beneficial ownership after resale of shares is based on the premise that the
selling stockholders will sell all of the shares of common stock owned by such
selling stockholder and covered by this prospectus.
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Beneficial
Ownership After this Offering
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Selling
Stockholder
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Beneficial
Ownership Prior to this Offering
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Shares
That May be Offered and Sold Hereby
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Number
of
Shares
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Percent
of
Class (1)
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Redpoint
Omega, L.P.
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3,801,592
(2)
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1,856,591
(4)
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1,945,001
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19.8
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Redpoint
Omega Associates, LLC
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107,500
(3)
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52,500
(5)
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55,000
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*
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*less
than 1%
(1)
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Based
upon 7,890,880 shares of common stock outstanding as of
June 12, 2009.
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(2)
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Consists
of (i) 1,296,667 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of 58,350
shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, (ii) 1,267,198 shares
of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by Redpoint
Omega, L.P. (“RO LP”) and (iii) 1,237,727 shares of common stock issuable
upon conversion of 68,075 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
which were issued in connection with our June 2008 private
placement. Redpoint Omega, LLC (“RO LLC”) is the general
partner of and possesses sole voting and investment control over the
shares owned by RO LP and may be deemed to have indirect beneficial
ownership of the shares held by RO LP. RO LLC owns none of our
securities directly. RO LP is under common control with Redpoint Omega
Associates, LLC. Allen Beasley is Managing Director of RO LLC.
As such, Mr. Beasley shares voting and investment power over the shares
held by RO LP and may be deemed to have indirect beneficial ownership of
the shares held by RO LP. Mr. Beasley disclaims beneficial ownership of
these securities except to the extent of his proportionate pecuniary
interest therein. Mr. Beasley is a director of the
Company.
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(3)
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Consists
of (i) 36,667 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion
of 1,650 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, (ii) 35,833
shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by
Redpoint Omega Associates, LLC ("ROA LLC") and (iii) 35,000 shares of
common stock issuable upon conversion of 1,925 shares of Series B
Preferred Stock which were issued in connection with our June 2008 private
placement. The securities are owned by ROA LLC as nominee for
its members. RO LP is under common control with RO LLC. Allen Beasley is a
Manager of ROA LLC. As such, Mr. Beasley shares voting and
investment power over the shares held by ROA LLC and may be deemed to have
indirect beneficial ownership of the shares held by ROA LLC. Mr. Beasley
disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities except to the extent of
his proportionate pecuniary interest therein. Mr. Beasley is a
director of the Company.
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(4) |
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Consists
of (i) 1,237,727 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of 68,075
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and (ii) 618,864
shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by RO
LP. |
(5) |
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Consists
of (i) 35,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of 1,925
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and (ii) 17,500 shares of
common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by RO
LLC. |
PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
The
selling stockholders, or their pledgees, donees, transferees, or any of their
successors in interest selling shares received from a named selling stockholder
as a gift, partnership distribution or other non-sale-related transfer after the
date of this prospectus (all of whom may be selling stockholders) may sell the
common stock offered by this prospectus from time to time on any stock exchange
or automated interdealer quotation system on which the common stock is listed or
quoted at the time of sale, in the over-the-counter market, in privately
negotiated transactions or otherwise, at fixed prices that may be changed, at
market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing
market prices or at prices otherwise negotiated. The selling stockholders may
sell the common stock by one or more of the following methods, without
limitation:
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· Block
trades in which the broker or dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the
common stock as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block
as principal to facilitate the
transaction;
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· An exchange
distribution in accordance with the rules of any stock exchange on which
the common stock is listed;
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· Ordinary
brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker solicits
purchases;
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· Privately
negotiated transactions;
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· In connection
with short sales of company shares;
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· Through the
distribution of common stock by any selling stockholder to its partners,
members or stockholders;
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· By pledge to secure
debts of other obligations;
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· In connection with
the writing of non-traded and exchange-traded call options, in hedge
transactions and in settlement of other transactions in standardized or
over-the-counter options;
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· Purchases by a
broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its
account;
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·
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Any
other method permitted pursuant to applicable law;
or
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· In a combination of
any of the above.
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These
transactions may include crosses, which are transactions in which the same
broker acts as an agent on both sides of the trade. The selling stockholders may
also transfer the common stock by gift. We do not know of any arrangements by
the selling stockholders for the sale of any of the common stock.
The
selling stockholders may engage brokers and dealers, and any brokers or dealers
may arrange for other brokers or dealers to participate in effecting sales of
the common stock. These brokers or dealers may act as principals, or as an agent
of a selling stockholder. Broker-dealers may agree with a selling stockholder to
sell a specified number of the stocks at a stipulated price per share. If the
broker-dealer is unable to sell common stock acting as agent for a selling
stockholder, it may purchase as principal any unsold shares at the stipulated
price. Broker-dealers who acquire common stock as principals may thereafter
resell the shares from time to time in transactions in any stock exchange or
automated interdealer quotation system on which the common stock is then listed,
at prices and on terms then prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to
the then-current market price or in negotiated transactions. Broker-dealers may
use block transactions and sales to and through broker-dealers, including
transactions of the nature described above. The selling stockholders may also
sell the common stock in accordance with Rule 144 or Rule 144A under the
Securities Act, rather than pursuant to this prospectus. In order to comply with
the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the shares of common stock
may be sold in these jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers
or dealers.
Broker-dealers
may receive commissions or discounts from the selling stockholders (or, if any
broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of shares, from the purchaser) in
amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this
prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction not in excess of a customary
brokerage commission in compliance with NASDR Rule 2440; and in the case of a
principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with NASDR
IM-2440.
From
time to time, the selling stockholders may pledge, hypothecate or grant a
security interest in some or all of the shares owned by them. The pledgees,
secured parties or person to whom the shares have been hypothecated will, upon
foreclosure in the event of default, be deemed to be selling stockholders. The
number of a selling stockholder’s shares offered under this prospectus will
decrease as and when it takes such actions. The plan of distribution for that
selling stockholder’s shares will otherwise remain unchanged. In addition, a
selling stockholder may, from time to time, sell the shares short, and, in those
instances, this prospectus may be delivered in connection with the short sales
and the shares offered under this prospectus may be used to cover short
sales.
The selling stockholders also
may transfer the shares of common stock in other circumstances, in which case
the donees, transferees, assignees, pledgees or other successors in interest
will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus and may
sell the shares of common stock from time to time under this prospectus after we
have filed any necessary supplement to this prospectus under
Rule 424(b)(3) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act of
1933 supplementing or amending the list of selling stockholders to include the
donee, pledgee, transferee, assignee or other successors in interest as selling
stockholders under this prospectus.
To
the extent required under the Securities Act, the aggregate amount of selling
stockholder’s shares being offered and the terms of the offering, the names of
any agents, brokers, dealers or underwriters, any applicable commission and
other material facts with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in an
accompanying prospectus supplement or a post-effective amendment to the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, as appropriate. Any
underwriters, dealers, brokers or agents participating in the distribution of
the common stock may receive compensation in the form of underwriting discounts,
concessions, commissions or fees from a selling stockholder and/or purchasers of
selling stockholder’s shares, for whom they may act (which compensation as to a
particular broker-dealer might be less than or in excess of customary
commissions). Neither we nor the selling stockholders can presently estimate the
amount of any such compensation.
The
selling stockholders and any underwriters, brokers, dealers or agents that
participate in the distribution of the common stock may be deemed to be
“underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts,
concessions, commissions or fees received by them and any profit on the resale
of the securities sold by them may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and
commissions. If a selling stockholder is deemed to be an underwriter, the
selling stockholder may be subject to certain statutory liabilities including,
but not limited to Sections 11, 12 and 17 of the Securities Act and Rule 10b-5
under the Exchange Act. Selling stockholders who are deemed underwriters within
the meaning of the Securities Act will be subject to the prospectus delivery
requirements of the Securities Act. The SEC staff is of a view that selling
stockholders who are registered broker-dealers or affiliates of registered
broker-dealers may be underwriters under the Securities Act. We will not pay any
compensation or give any discounts or commissions to any underwriter in
connection with the securities being offered by this prospectus.
A
selling stockholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers and
the broker-dealers may engage in short sales of the common stock in the course
of hedging the positions they assume with that selling stockholder, including,
without limitation, in connection with distributions of the common stock by
those broker-dealers. A selling stockholder may enter into option or other
transactions with broker-dealers, who may then resell or otherwise transfer
those common stock. A selling stockholder may also loan or pledge the common
stock offered hereby to a broker-dealer and the broker-dealer may sell the
common stock offered by this prospectus so loaned or upon a default may sell or
otherwise transfer the pledged common stock offered by this
prospectus.
The
selling stockholders and other persons participating in the sale or distribution
of the common stock will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange
Act, and the rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, including Regulation
M. This regulation may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of the
common stock by the selling stockholders and any other person. The
anti-manipulation rules under the Exchange Act may apply to sales of common
stock in the market and to the activities of the selling stockholders and their
respective affiliates. Regulation M may restrict the ability of any person
engaged in the distribution of the common stock to engage in market-making
activities with respect to the particular common stock being distributed for a
period of up to five business days before the distribution. These restrictions
may affect the marketability of the common stock and the ability of any person
or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to the common
stock.
We
have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholders and any brokers, dealers and
agents who may be deemed to be underwriters, if any, of the common stock offered
by this prospectus, against specified liabilities, including liabilities under
the Securities Act. The selling stockholders have agreed to indemnify us against
specified liabilities.
We
have agreed with the selling stockholders to keep this registration statement
effective until the earlier of (i) beginning June 16, 2009, all of
the shares of common stock covered by this registration statement have been sold
and (ii) 100% of the shares of common stock may be sold without volume
restrictions pursuant to Rule 144(b)(1).
We
cannot assure you that the selling stockholders will sell all or any portion of
the common stock offered by this prospectus. In addition, we cannot assure you
that the selling stockholders will not transfer the shares of our common stock
by other means not described in this prospectus.
LEGAL
MATTERS
The
validity of the issuance of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon
for us by Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP, New York, New York.
EXPERTS
The
consolidated financial statements of Answers Corporation and subsidiary (the
“Company”) as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, and for each of the years in
the two-year period ended December 31, 2008, have been incorporated by
reference herein in reliance upon the report of Somekh Chaikin a member firm of
KPMG International, an independent registered public accounting firm,
incorporated by reference herein and upon the authority of said firm as experts
in accounting and auditing.
The audit
report covering the December 31, 2008 financial statements refers to the
adoption by the Company, effective January 1, 2008, of Financial Accounting
Standards Board Statement No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements”.
PART
II
INFORMATION
NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item
14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The
following table sets forth an estimate of the fees and expenses relating to the
issuance and distribution of the securities being registered hereby, other than
underwriting discounts and commissions, all of which shall be borne by Answers
Corporation (the “Registrant” or the “Company”). All of such fees and
expenses, except for the SEC Registration Fee, are estimated:
SEC
registration fee
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|
$872
|
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Transfer
agent’s fees and expenses
|
|
$3,000
|
*
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Legal
fees and expenses
|
|
$20,000
|
*
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Printing
fees and expenses
|
|
$5,000
|
*
|
Accounting
fees and expenses
|
|
$15,000
|
*
|
Miscellaneous
fees and expenses
|
|
$1,128
|
*
|
|
|
|
|
Total
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|
$45,000
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*
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Item 15.
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Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
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Our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation, as amended, provides that to the fullest extent permitted by the
Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of the company shall not be
personally liable to the company or its stockholders for monetary damages for
breach of fiduciary duty as a director. Under current Delaware law, liability of
a director may not be limited (i) for any breach of the director's duty of
loyalty to the company or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in
good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law,
and (iii) for any transaction from which the director derives an improper
personal benefit.
The effect of the provision of our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, is to eliminate
the rights of the company and its stockholders (through stockholders' derivative
suits on behalf of the company) to recover monetary damages against a director
for breach of the fiduciary duty of care as a director (including breaches
resulting from negligent or grossly negligent behavior) except in the situations
described in clauses (i) through (iii) above. This provision does not limit or
eliminate the rights of the company or any stockholder to seek non-monetary
relief such as an injunction or rescission in the event of a breach of a
director's duty of care. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation, as amended, provides that the company shall indemnify to the
fullest extent permitted by law its directors, officers and employees and any
other persons to which Delaware law permits a corporation to provide
indemnification against losses incurred by any such person by reason of the fact
that such person was acting in such capacity.
We have an insurance policy that
insures its directors and officers, within the limits and subject to the
limitations of the policy, against certain expenses in connection with the
defense of actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities that might be
imposed as a result of such actions, suits or proceedings, to which they are
parties by reason of being or having been directors or
officers.
Item
16. Exhibits.
a)
Exhibits.
Exhibit
Number
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Description
of Document
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5.1
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Opinion
of Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP as to the legality of the
securities being registered.
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|
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23.1
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Consent
of Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP (included in Exhibit
5.1).
|
|
|
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23.2
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Consent
of Somekh Chaikin, a member firm of KPMG International, an independent
registered public accounting firm.
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24.1
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Power
of Attorney (included on signature pages to the registration
statement).
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|
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(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of
1933;
(ii) To
reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date
of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
in the information in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar
value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any
deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may
be reflected in the form of prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering
price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective
registration statement.
(iii) To
include any material information with respect to the “Plan of Distribution” not
previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to
such information in the registration statement;
provided,
however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section
do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3, and the information
required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is
contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the
registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a
form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the
registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any
liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment
shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a
post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain
unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) That,
for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any
purchaser:
(i)
|
Each
prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall
be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the
filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration
statement; and
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|
(ii) Each
prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or
(b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B
relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i),
(vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information
required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be
deemed to be part of and included in the Registration Statement as of the
earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after
effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in
the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B,
for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date
an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of
the Registration Statement relating to the securities in the Registration
Statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such
securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof. Provided,
however, that no statement made in a registration statement or
prospectus that is part of the Registration Statement or made in a
document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the
Registration Statement or prospectus that is part of the Registration
Statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to
such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in
the Registration Statement or prospectus that was part of the Registration
Statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective
date.
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The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual
report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and,
where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report
pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference
in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.
Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may
be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant
pursuant to the provisions described herein, or otherwise, the registrant has
been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in New York, New York, on the 15th day of June 2009.
|
ANSWERS
CORPORATION
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By:
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/s/
Robert S. Rosenschein
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Robert
S. Rosenschein
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|
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President,
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors (Principal
Executive Officer)
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KNOW ALL
PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below
constitutes and appoints Robert S. Rosenschein and Steven Steinberg, and each of
them, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for the undersigned and in his or her name,
place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) to the Registration Statement and to file
the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith,
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said
attorneys-in-fact and agents, full power and authority to do and perform each
and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection
therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do
in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and
agents, or any of them or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully
do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated have signed this Registration Statement
below.
Signature
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Title
|
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Date
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|
|
|
/s/
Robert S. Rosenschein
|
|
President,
Chief Executive Officer and
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|
June
15, 2009
|
Robert
S. Rosenschein
|
|
Chairman
of the Board of Directors (Principal Executive Officer)
|
|
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/s/
Lawrence S. Kramer
|
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Director
|
|
June
15, 2009
|
Lawrence
S. Kramer
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
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/s/
Mark B. Segall
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Director
|
|
June
15, 2009
|
Mark
B. Segall
|
|
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|
/s/
Edward G. Sim
|
|
Director
|
|
June
15, 2009
|
Edward
G. Sim
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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/s/ Steven Steinberg
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
June
15, 2009
|
Steven
Steinberg
|
|
(Principal
Accounting Officer and
Principal
Financial Officer)
|
|
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/s/ Yehuda Sternlicht
|
|
Director
|
|
June 15,
2009
|
Yehuda
Sternlicht
|
|
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/s/ Mark A. Tebbe
|
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Vice-Chairman
and Lead Director
|
|
June 15,
2009
|
Mark
A. Tebbe
|
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Director
|
|
June 15,
2009
|
W.
Allen Beasley
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ R. Thomas Dyal
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Director
|
|
June 15,
2009
|
R.
Thomas Dyal
|
|
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